Everything starts from Menghualu

Chapter 435 Returning Home and Showdown

Shen Lang was much better. He didn't mention these things at all. He just said a few simple words and let them go. This made the two of them feel a little strange.

In fact, Shen Lang’s original plan was not like this. He just changed his mind temporarily. The reason he did this was because he was about to have a child.

That’s right, before the morning court today, Wang Xinyi came to tell him that Concubine Qin was pregnant, so he was very happy and naturally had no intention of teasing the couple.

"Look, I told you, His Majesty is not bad. Didn't he say anything?" Cao Cheng said
"Hmph, you still say that. My royal brother didn't say it, but our mother did. Anyway, it's all your fault, it's all your fault!" After hearing this, Shen Zhiyi raised her pink fist and hit Cao Cheng in the chest.

"Alright, alright, madam, my dear madam, I was wrong. Is that okay? I will never dare to do it again. I will never dare to do it again. Please be magnanimous, okay?" Cao Cheng said.
"Hmph, that's better. I'll let you off this time." Shen Zhiyi nodded.

"Thank you, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am. Ma'am, we'll be there soon. What would you like to eat? Or where would you like to go shopping?" Cao Cheng asked.

"I, I miss Ningning. Please ask someone to find Ningning." Shen Zhiyi said

"Ah? Madam, what do you want our newlywed Yan'er to do?" Cao Cheng asked

"Didn't you ask me? If you don't want to scream, forget it." Shen Zhiyi said

"Oh, no, no, no, I'll ask someone to look for it when I get back." Cao Cheng said hurriedly.
The couple returned to their mansion chatting and laughing all the way, and Cao Cheng really kept his promise and sent someone to invite Jiang Xuening.

What he didn't know was that at this moment, Jiang Xuening was here with Xie Wei, talking to Yan Lin and the others. Yes, Yan Lin was also here at this moment.

"Sir, Yan Lin is safe now. What should we do next?" Jiang Xuening said

"What's next? What's next can only be described in one word, which is wait." Xie Wei said
"Wait? Are we just going to wait like this? How long do we have to wait?" Jiang Xue Ning asked

"Of course I'm not just waiting there. I still have to do what I need to do, but I can't do it the same way as before. In the short term, Yan Lin can't make any moves."

After all, Yan Lin was spared by His Majesty because of the existence of the Tongzhou camp, but this also left hidden dangers, so Yan Lin cannot act rashly now.

"So the next thing will depend on you. I will take care of His Majesty, and you will be in charge of the princess. Pay attention to Cao Cheng's movements." Xie Wei said
"Well, okay, I understand. I'll leave first, sir." Jiang Xuening said and was about to leave.

Yan Lin naturally stood up to see her off. Before leaving, Yan Lin said, "Ningning, the princess is fine. Don't worry too much, or you might hurt yourself."

"Don't worry, Yan Lin, I will be careful. Okay, you should go back soon. The master may want to discuss something with you. I'll leave first." After Jiang Xue Ning comforted Yan Lin, she got on her own carriage.

When Jiang Xuening returned to the mansion, she was immediately called over by her mother.

"What have you been doing so early in the morning? Someone from Dingyuan Marquis's Mansion came and said that the princess wanted to see you. Why don't you pack up and go there?" Mother Jiang asked anxiously.
"What? Mother, did I hear you correctly? You said the princess wants to see me? Now? But didn't she just get married yesterday? Why would she see me now?" Jiang Xue Ning asked

"How would I know that? Well, stop dawdling and go quickly. Don't keep the princess waiting for too long. And don't forget to tell your sister." Mother Jiang said.
Jiang Xuening paused for a moment after hearing this, then immediately nodded and got back on the carriage.

"Ningning, you're finally here. What took you so long? I thought my husband was lying to me. Come on, follow me. We need to have a good chat." Shen Zhiyi said happily.

After hearing this, Jiang Xuening naturally didn't say anything, just nodded, and then followed Shen Zhiyi to the room, and the two of them started chatting privately.

At this time, Cao Cheng was not idle either, because the Yan family had fallen, and he would be the next to take the lead. Shen Jie would never give up the opportunity to cause trouble for him.

They have just gotten married, and trouble will probably come after these few days, so he should prepare early, but how should he prepare?
Logically speaking, Xie Wei's side was an opportunity, but his current identity was a bit awkward. Other things didn't matter, he was mainly worried about whether His Majesty would think too much.

After all, Xie Wei can be said to be the civil servant most trusted by His Majesty, and he has no other choice but to be loyal to His Majesty.

So for His Majesty, he can be considered a trustworthy person, but this also means that the relationship between him and Xie Wei can only be hostile.

If their relationship is too good, His Majesty might become suspicious. Even though the Xue family is a bit too powerful now, it still cannot change His Majesty's mind.

Just as he was thinking, there was a knock on the study door, and then the housekeeper came in and said, "My Lord, there is news from the palace that Concubine Qin is pregnant with your Majesty's child."

"What? Concubine Qin is pregnant? Interesting, really interesting. This is going to be fun. Okay, I'm going to get pregnant. You go down first. By the way, make more of the princess' favorite food for lunch." Cao Cheng ordered.
After hearing the instructions, the old butler naturally bowed hurriedly and then left the study.

After the butler left, Cao Cheng showed a playful smile on his face.

At the same time, the Xue family naturally also received the news. Compared with Cao Cheng's understatement, the Xue family's reaction was much greater.

"What? Concubine Qin is pregnant? Damn it, she was fine before, why is she suddenly pregnant? No, I can't let her give birth to this child no matter what!" Xue Yuandao
"Father, His Majesty has almost cleared out all the people in our palace, and His Majesty has issued an order today that Concubine Qin should no longer be strictly protected."

"I'm afraid we don't have much of a chance. The most important thing is, even if we succeed, it will implicate us, and then the loss will outweigh the gain." Xue Shu advised.

"Shu'er, what do you think we should do? Are we just going to sit there and wait?" Xue Yuan said
"Father, of course we can't just wait like this, but we can't show up, but my aunt can? She is your majesty's mother. Even if your majesty finds out in the end, I believe your majesty won't do anything, right?" Xue Shu said
"Well, your idea is good, Shu'er, you and Prince Linzi should hurry up, we don't have that much time now." Xue Yuan reminded
"Don't worry, father. I know what to do." Xue Shu nodded.
At this time, Jiang Xuening and Shen Zhiyi were talking about Jiang Xuehui. "Ningning, why are you talking about your sister all of a sudden? I know, you want me to help her, right? But I can't help her with this matter."

"This matter depends on my husband's own opinion. If my husband doesn't have this intention, I can't persuade him. Ningning, you also have to understand my difficulties, right?" Shen Zhiyi said

"Of course I know this, Your Highness. I actually have no choice. This is all because of my mother forcing me to do this. Otherwise, why would I tell you this at this time?" Jiang Xue Ning said

"Well, I know, of course I know, so I'm not angry. I just said that it doesn't seem appropriate now, let's talk about it after a while." Shen Zhiyi said

"Okay, I understand, Your Highness. I am so sorry for you today. What shall I do?" Jiang Xuening said

"Okay, okay, you have your own difficulties, I understand, let's not talk about this anymore." Shen Zhiyi said with a smile
Jiang Xuening felt relieved after hearing this, but she also knew that because she brought up this matter, she had to leave immediately.

After Shen Zhiyi learned that Jiang Xuening was leaving, she naturally tried to keep her, but Jiang Xuening was determined to leave, and Shen Zhiyi had no choice but to let her go.

So during lunch, Cao Cheng was surprised to find that Jiang Xue Ning had left, so he asked, "Madam, why did your best friend suddenly leave?"

"She said she had something to do at home, so I didn't keep her. Husband, let's eat." Shen Zhiyi said

As soon as Cao Cheng heard it, he knew that something must have happened, but since his wife didn't say anything, he naturally wouldn't ask.

So the day passed quickly, and early the next morning, they packed up and returned to the Xue family. Yes, this is the special thing about marrying a princess.

Under normal circumstances, he should have come to the Xue family yesterday and go to the palace today, but if he were to marry a princess, these things would have to be reversed, so today he was returning to the Xue family.

The Xue family naturally knew this, so the whole family gathered in the mansion today to wait for their arrival.

After Cao Cheng and his wife got off the carriage, they saw this scene. Naturally, they hurried up to greet and finally entered the Duke's Mansion talking and laughing.

Let’s not talk about the woman’s side for now, and let’s talk about Cao Cheng. At this time, Cao Cheng was talking to his adoptive father and step-brother in the study.

"Cheng'er, I'm sure you've heard about this. Concubine Qin is pregnant. This is not good news for our family." Xue Yuandao
"Foster father, please don't be angry if I tell you the truth. This matter is actually not bad for me. On the contrary, it is good news, isn't it?" Cao Cheng said with a smile

After hearing this, Xue Yuan was silent for a while. Cao Cheng naturally did not speak either. Time passed slowly. After an unknown amount of time, he finally said, "Cheng'er, are you still blaming me?"

"Godfather, yes, of course I am blaming you, because the person you support now wants to kill me, so how can I let him do what he wants?"

"Because of Shen Jie, an irreparable rift has already appeared between us father and son. The relationship between you and me can no longer go back to the way it was before."

"Father, I don't know who will win in the end, but I know one thing, that is, I don't want to die, so I'm sorry, father, you can't touch this child." Cao Cheng said directly
"Okay, okay, okay, Cheng'er, you finally said the time thing. That's right, you are right. Our relationship can't go back to the way it was before."

"However, you can't keep this child. If you turn back now, I will naturally plead for you. But if you still insist on not changing your ways?" Xue Yuan said.
"Haha, godfather, let's not talk about some things. If it were possible, I actually wouldn't want to go this far, but there's nothing I can do. This is all forced by the situation."

"Foster father, your promise is indeed very touching, but don't forget that if the child dies, no matter who did it, His Majesty will hold you responsible."

"Your Majesty will lose all hope and go crazy, godfather. By that time, even if we can survive, we will probably be seriously injured, right?"

"Do you think Shen Jie will give the Xue family time to heal? Don't forget that Yan Lin is still alive. Do you think he will directly give the Xue family to Yan Lin?" Cao Cheng said
After hearing this, Xue Yuan's expression did not change. However, Xue Ye, who had been listening nearby, was not so cunning. His expression changed drastically at this moment.

If speaking out now would not disturb his father, he would definitely have asked, but now, he could only put his worries aside.

"Cheng'er, I admit that what you said makes sense, but you forgot that Shen Jie is not Shen Lang. He doesn't have that much ability."

"Even if he wants to get rid of him, we have to see if he is that easy to deal with!" Xue Yuan said
"Foster father, I just told you that Yan Lin is still alive and there is no need to worry about him, but have you forgotten about Xie Wei? What do you think would happen if he helped Yan Lin?"

"Don't forget that all his wealth and glory were given by the current emperor. If the emperor is gone, what do you think he will do? What can he do?" Cao Cheng said directly.
"You are right. Xie Wei is indeed a threat, but there is still time. As long as we find a way to get rid of Xie Wei, all problems can be solved." Xue Yuan said
"Get rid of Xie Wei? Godfather, let me warn you, this person may not be so easy to deal with. You must be careful not to get into trouble."

"Okay, godfather, this is all I can do. For the rest, I don't know what to do. I'll take my leave now." After Cao Cheng finished speaking, he turned around and left.

Xue Yuan looked at his departing back with a solemn expression, wondering what he was thinking.

After Cao Cheng had completely walked away, Xue Ye, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up, "Father, I think what my eldest brother said makes sense. Should we reconsider it?"

"What are you considering? Silly boy, at this point, we have no way out. If we retreat now, His Majesty will never let go of this good opportunity."

"Our family will be in real trouble then. Now we have no choice but to move forward. Okay, stop thinking about it and get out." Xue Yuan waved his hand.
After hearing this, Xue Ye realized that he could not persuade his father, so he bowed and left the study.

(End of this chapter)